Pocket Gamer 20th anniversary: A delightfully puzzling year

I don't have the fondest memories of 2015 to early 2019, besides a handful of great gigs. Beyond those, it was a bit of a sticky, aimless period in my life that I'm glad is firmly in the rearview mirror. However, there was one gleaming exception: gaming in 2017. And would you look at that, it's where we've got to in our Pocket Gamer 20th anniversary celebrations. It was truly a great year, regardless of your preferred genre, on mobile, PC and console. 

Before we discuss that, let's remind ourselves what people were watching and listening to back then. The best MCU film to date, Thor: Ragnarok, graced cinemas, proving that Chris Hemsworth is infinitely more enjoyable to watch when he's a bit funny. They did drop the ball with Love & Thunder, though. Elsewhere, Disney continued its trend of ruining classics by making unnecessary live-action/photorealistic remakes with Beauty and the Beast, while the Minions continued to inexplicably entertain in Despicable Me 3. 

In music, Ed Sheeran released Divide. It would go on to win a Grammy while the deluxe version became the second most-streamed album ever on Spotify. Fair to say, the lad's done well for himself. It wasn't all radio-friendly pop that people were listening to with Kendrick Lamar's Damn, solidifying rap's spot at the musical table. 

As I said at the top, it was gaming that stood out. On PC and console, the battle royale craze took off, first with PUBG and later Fortnite. For a long stretch, the two went toe-to-toe. Eventually, though, Fortnite took an almost unassailable lead, remaining ridiculously popular to this day. I'm not even a multiplayer person, but I gave it a shot. Of course, I promptly retired when my opponents could build a skyscraper in about five seconds, as I was still struggling to open the building menu. I just don’t possess high APM. 

So, I largely stuck with my old friend, singleplayer, and we were spoiled in 2017. From bigger developers, we had Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Persona 5, Resident Evil 7, and Mario + Rabbids. On the smaller/indie side, we got Cuphead and Pyre. It really was amazing, and that's without mentioning one of my all-time favourites, Nier: Automata. I loved that game so much, I spent around £300 buying a 2B statue from Japan. Does it now just sit in a corner gathering dust? Admittedly, yes, it does. However, it's still awesome. Therefore, it’s worth every penny. 

Fire Emblem Heroes

At this point, gacha RPGs are practically synonymous with mobile; it feels like we cover yet another anime-style entry in the genre every day. However, it wasn't always the case. When Fire Emblem Heroes launched, it didn't have that 'Seriously, another one?' attitude from the public. Instead, it delivered a solid, if imperfect, version of the long-running Nintendo series. Naturally, the free-to-play aspect caused a few concerns, as it always does. Still, 10 million downloads later, it's fair to say people got along with it for the most part.

Monument Valley 2

Sequels are often tricky, particularly when they involve a pretty puzzler. It's not always possible to recapture the magic from the first when you introduce new elements that might rub people the wrong way. Thankfully, Monument Valley 2 is a more than worthy successor. In fact, it exceeds the original in many ways, bringing an experience to mobile that you truly have to play to fully appreciate. Is that a cop out? Maybe. Equally, though, I want you to play Monument Valley 2.

Gorogoa

And sticking with stunning puzzlers, next up we have Gorogoa. It effectively sees you playing with a painting as you move around one of the four panels that make up the screen, manipulating the perspective or context. As a simple example, shifting them around might move an object closer to our hero, allowing him to pick it up. Of course, it gets far more complicated and clever than that. I just don't want to spoil any of it here since that sense of discovery is part of what makes Gorogoa absolutely flawless.

Cosmic Express

Apparently, 2017 was the year of puzzlers on mobile, because Cosmic Express is another stellar example. In it, you have to create small-scale railways in space, helping adorable aliens reach their destination. All you have to do is drag and drop pieces of track to allow the train to trundle along to the station. Simple, right? Wrong! Unsurprisingly, additional elements are thrown in along the way to make everything a bit trickier. For instance, not every alien wants to go to the same stop, and once some track is down, it's there permanently. It leads to some overly complex setups that make it all the more satisfying when it works out.

Card Thief

How about a spot of stealth-strategy with a dash of Solitaire? That's what Card Thief offers, alongside a deliciously moody art style. On each level, you have to sneak through, nab a chest, and make off with the goods. However, this actually plays out using cards rather than controlling your character directly. Each has a cost that varies based on your previous action, meaning a good strategy is the key to success. There are additional cards on offer that can assist you with guards, but you can’t entirely rely on them. 

Inside

That's right. Inside came to mobile a mere year after launching for PC and consoles. I already praised it yesterday, but it's worth mentioning that the port is also excellent. Being scaled down to a smaller screen removes none of the darkness or atmosphere from the platformer. Definitely make sure you play it with headphones. The sound design is superb.